draggin these memories

Nova

we dream in colors

Just because it's Deepfrost doesn't mean she can't enjoy a little bit of sunlight. The weather might be a little too cold for a bikini, but she can still soak up the rays in her glittery striped sweater. She tilts her head up to the sky, breathing a deep sigh of relief to be back, even if it's only for a short time while she visits a few of her favorite stores. 

Tilting her over-large sunglasses down her nose, Nova rushes forward to grab another shell, adding it to the growing pile in her hand. Another benefit of the coastal region: there's always great inspiration for new creations. She's already planning to use the opalescent shells to try out a new sparkly powder. 

She bounces on her feet in the sand, pausing as she rises to look out over the horizon, just in time to spot a large blip of something in the sky.

borrowed from the sea

// fire on the mountain, run, boys, run //

The large blip in question is hunting sharks.

Danta is actually on his way to see Flora and to help her with her renovation (er... reconstruction?) of The Hanged Man, but with the trip to Torchline made on the very same wings that blot the clouds now, he's a little hungry. And bloodlusty. From experience, it's bad etiquette to show up to a gathering wanting to kill and eat the other members of the group, so he feels it's best to take care of it now.

Still, that does mean anyone along the Ahi Coast will be given a front row seat to the way he dives down from the sky, reptilian eyes pinned on a shape moving beneath the dark and deep. He doesn't touch the water more than he can help, teeth and claws snatching out to make a go of the hunt. Alas, he's unsuccessful this time, and a roar of annoyance shrieks from his throat as he's forced skywards again to circle back around.

Dantalion

// the devil's in the house of the risin' sun //

Nova

we dream in colors

Pausing in her collection of shells, Nova narrows her eyes as if zooming in on the dark blip in the sky. It comes in a little clearer, but the distance makes it hard to tell, and she leans forward like the extra foot will make a difference. Maybe it's a bird? She thinks she notices a flapping motion, but... is that a tail? 

It twists and dives towards the water, making her blink with surprise. Is it... playing? She certainly likes water as much as any Torcher, but with more inspection, she realizes it's a lot larger than she'd originally thought. In fact, it's massive with giant claws and teeth that snap into the surf with impressive strength. She doesn't even know the smile has formed while she watches, slowly realizing that it's a dragon, completely enthralled by its presence.

borrowed from the sea

// fire on the mountain, run, boys, run //

Feeling quite the opposite of majestic and powerful and fierce, Danta is too busy glaring at the waves to realise he's got an admirer on the shore. Roaring again down at the ocean as if to demand it gives up its sharks for his dinner, at a glimmer of movement closer to the shallows, he follows it with an immediate beat of his wings and a reckless dive. A particularly agile example of his species, he's nevertheless not keen to try out swimming as a black dragon, and as he skims the waves this time it's with a shriek of success that he pulls back up.

The glimmer had been a pack of echo sharks, and with one flailing in the grip of his claws, he heads skywards so he can properly finish it off. The result has him listing further inland without realising it, and if Nova isn't careful she'll get quite an intimate view of what happens to a shark when it enters a dragon's maw.

Dantalion

// the devil's in the house of the risin' sun //

Nova

we dream in colors

The dragon roars and dives again. Nova gasps, captivated by the powerful display demonstrated by the beast. This is different than being up close to Sunjata, watching him eat muffins. This dragon moves with a vicious swiftness and brutal precision that she can only hope she one day has. It is unapologetically violent and free, her heart beating with a moment of appreciation - and a hint of jealousy.

In an impressive maneuver, it skims the surface of the water, ripping a creature from the glimmering waves. She grins and gives an encouraging "YEAH!" as it lifts an entire echo shark from the ocean, the shark twisting and struggling to escape the fate in store for it. Nova feels no remorse for the beast, basking in the display. This is the way of the world - and the powerful will always win. Instead, she stands awestruck on the beach, admiring every sharp angle and flap of its wings, anticipation growing as she waits to see what it will do next.

borrowed from the sea

// fire on the mountain, run, boys, run //

What it will do next, as Nova is about to find out, is to play with its food. It takes a few moments banking into the sea breeze to realise he can't quite twist his head down, raise the writhing shark to his maw to consume it, and keep flying, and eventually Danta resorts to playing catch. Dropping the shark from his claws, he bombs down to catch it again in a snap of his teeth this time, crunching through bone and flesh in one to dispose of the creature nearly whole.

There's nothing left to scatter to the waves and even less evidence of what had taken place, but the way a few people are leaving the beach is a giveaway that they're no longer certain that this is an Attuned. For his part, Danta roars out his victory and rolls lazily in the air, before swooping lower and angling himself towards the shoreline, evidently considering coming in to land.

Dantalion

// the devil's in the house of the risin' sun //

Nova

we dream in colors

It's hard to tell if the dragon is playing or putting on a show, but Nova can't find it in herself to care. She giggles as it tries and fails to maneuver the echo shark in a way that its head to reach while it flies. But the sound quickly shifts to a delighted gasp when it drops the shark, its massive jaws snapping out to cut cleanly through the bone and sinew in a sound that Nova swears she can hear from the beach. It's deadly, it's brutal, it's incredible.

Any sane person would be terrified at the display, but Nova revels it in. She even gives a congratulatory clap of her hands once she manages to set aside her shells, eyes glowing in the sunlight as she drinks in the majesty of the black dragon, giggling when it roars and barrel rolls through the sky. 

The other patrons of the beach move to leave, but she stays, watching it approach with the same bedazzled lack of fear she'd had when facing Sunjata's storm dragon, naively assuming it won't bother to attack her. In her delusional state, Nova gathers her shells back up, standing on the beach with her hair ruffling in the breeze like the female main character waiting for her lover at the end of a movie, appearing to bask in the dragon's approach rather than shy away. She even offers a wave as it gets closer, grinning far and wide.

borrowed from the sea

// fire on the mountain, run, boys, run //

It's uncertain whether Danta hears the applause for his brutal attempt at sushi, but he definitely sees the waving as he draws closer to the shoreline, reptilian eyes narrowing as if to try to make the figure out more sharply. At first he thinks it might be Flora - Nova is little more than a blonde speck on the sand, so sue him - but he soon realises he doesn't recognise the woman greeting him into Torchline.

Nevertheless, he pitches a shriek towards her as if to respond to her hello, dipping low enough that, when he passes, Nova will be drowned in the shadow of his silhouette and will feel the gale produced by the beating of his wings. Alas, he can't stop for chit-chat right now, so hopefully this passing by is enough; Danta angles himself upwards once more after passing over her, turning for Haulani where he plans to spend the next bit of time.

~FIN

Dantalion

// the devil's in the house of the risin' sun //